Eating Christ’s Flesh and Drinking His Blood

“He who eateth me, even he shall live by me.” (John 6:57)

What our LORD Jesus is stating here is not some form of cannibalism whereby His followers eat His flesh or drink His blood. The flesh and blood of the LORD Jesus, as the Son of Man, denote Him as the Redeemer Who came in the flesh and laid down His life. It further signifies how the redemption that He worked out as God in the flesh was done so that those whom the Father gave Him might enjoy ALL the glorious benefits of redemption: the pardoning of sin, full and free justification and complete acceptance with God. The LORD Jesus refers to partaking of His flesh and blood because it was by the breaking of His body and the shedding of His blood that the salvation of His elect was accomplished. Spiritually then, they are meat and drink to the souls of those sinners for whom He paid their complete sin debt. Eating His flesh and drinking His blood is symbolic of believing in Christ, John 6:53-57. It is by God-given Faith that His redeemed, justified and Spirit-born sinners partake of Him.

Any who do not hunger and thirst after HIM are yet dead Spiritually and unable to partake of Him. We all, by nature, would reject the LORD Jesus and His work of righteousness, much as the self-righteous Pharisees did in Christ’s day. Our LORD condemned those who boasted of their own works of righteousness but received the publicans and harlots with open arms. Why? Because it was for such that the LORD came into this world, to save even the worst of sinners, Luke 5:32.

If we think that righteousness is to be obtained by us to cover our wicked nature or recommend us to God or justify us either first or last in whole or in part then we deceive ourselves and the Truth is not in us. However, our LORD gives this promise: “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6) Here then is the only hope of those souls that the Spirit of God has made alive in Christ. They will hunger and thirst after that righteousness that He earned and established for them and that God imputed at the cross to their Spiritual account when He had completed the work to the satisfaction of God the Father. These are the souls of those who feed on Christ and therefore live by Him. Just as physical life is reflected in hunger and thirst, so the Spirit of Christ fills the needy soul with hunger and thirst for Christ. We have the Sure Word of Christ: “...he shall live by ME.” (John 6:57) Because of Christ, we live by His Grace now in this life and we shall live with Him in glory for eternity [endlessly].